Learn more
 

Import Real-Time Azure Analysis Services Data in ColdFusion to Build Applications


Use CData ODBC drivers to import and use Azure Analysis Services data in ColdFusion.

Adobe ColdFusion is a web and mobile application development platform. It uses its own scripting language, ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML), to create data-driven websites as well as generate remote services, such as REST. When ColdFusion is paired with the CData ODBC Driver for Azure Analysis Services, you can link your ColdFusion web and mobile applications to operational Azure Analysis Services data. This allows for your applications to be more robust and complete. This article details how to use the ODBC driver to create a table populated with Azure Analysis Services data from within a ColdFusion markup file.

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to install the CData ODBC Driver for Azure Analysis Services and Adobe ColdFusion.

Configuring the Connection

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (Data Source Name). This is the last step of the driver installation process. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

To connect to Azure Analysis Services, set the Url property to a valid server, for instance, asazure://southcentralus.asazure.windows.net/server, in addition to authenticating. Optionally, set Database to distinguish which Azure database on the server to connect to.

Azure Analysis Services uses the OAuth authentication standard. OAuth requires the authenticating user to interact with Azure Analysis Services using the browser. You can connect without setting any connection properties for your user credentials. See the Help documentation for more information.

Adding a Data Source and Creating a Table

After creating a DSN, follow the steps below to add a new data source, test our connection to it, create a ColdFusion markup file, and, finally, import Azure Analysis Services Azure Analysis Services data and display it in a table in ColdFusion:

  1. From the ColdFusion administrator interface, choose Data & Services.
  2. Here, click "Add New Data Source". The data source name can be any name, provided it conforms to the ColdFusion variable naming conventions. For our ODBC driver, choose "ODBC Socket", then click the "Add" button.
  3. From the ODBC DSN Dropdown menu select CData Azure Analysis Services Sys. Under the Advanced Settings section, leave the Connection String blank. Note that any properties specified in this input field will override the ones specified in the DSN Configuration.
  4. Now, test the connection by pressing the check mark to the left of the CDataAzure Analysis ServicesODBC data source you just created. When the data source reports an "OK" status, it is ready for use.
  5. Next, create a new ColdFusion Markup file (.cfm) and place it in the wwwroot directory ("C:\ColdFusion2021\cfusion\wwwroot") for ColdFusion.

    The following code queries the data source: 

                
        <cfquery name="Azure Analysis ServicesQuery" dataSource="CDataAzure Analysis ServicesODBC"> 
          SELECT * FROM Customer 
        </cfquery>
    And a CFTable can be used to quickly output the table in HTML: 
                
          <cftable  
          query = "Azure Analysis ServicesQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 

          <cfcol header="<b>Country</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Country"/> 

          <cfcol header="<b>Education</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Education"/> 

          ...

        </cftable>
    Full code, including the HTML portion is available below: 
                
        <html> 
        <head><title>CData Software | Azure Analysis Services Customer Table Demo </title></head> 
        <body> 
        <cfoutput>#ucase("Azure Analysis Services Customer Table Demo")#</cfoutput> 
        <cfquery name="Azure Analysis ServicesQuery" dataSource="CDataAzure Analysis ServicesODBC"> 

          SELECT * FROM Customer 

        </cfquery> 
        <cftable  
          query = "Azure Analysis ServicesQuery" 
          border = "1" 
          colHeaders 
          colSpacing = "2" 
          headerLines = "2" 
          HTMLTable 
          maxRows = "500" 
          startRow = "1"> 
          <cfcol header="<b>Country</b>" align="Left" width=2 text="Country"/> 

          <cfcol header="<b>Education</b>" align="Left" width=15 text="Education"/> 

          ...

        </cftable> 
        </body> 

        </html>
  6. Finally, run the code in a browser. It produces a table populated with Azure Analysis Services data!

As a note, the CData ODBC Drivers also support parameterized queries using the cfqueryparam element. For example: SELECT * FROM Account WHERE name =

Get Started Today

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData ODBC Driver for Azure Analysis Services and start building Azure Analysis Services-connected applications with Adobe ColdFusion. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.

Ready to get started?

Download a free trial of the Azure Analysis Services ODBC Driver to get started:

 Download Now

Learn more:

Azure Analysis Services Icon Azure Analysis Services ODBC Driver

The Azure Analysis Services ODBC Driver is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with live data from Azure Analysis Services, directly from any applications that support ODBC connectivity.

Access Azure Analysis Services data like you would a database - read, write, and update Azure Analysis Services AnalysisServicesData, etc. through a standard ODBC Driver interface.

In this article

Related articles